“Neonicotinoids,” “Colony Collapse Disorder,” “Varroa,” “Nosema”… Defining those colloquialisms (and others) was just one of the goals the Canola Council of Canada’s Gregory Sekulic had in mind when he presented “Buzzwords about Bees” at the Farming Smarter Conference in Medicine Hat. Sekulic wanted to clear the air on jargon that so often exacerbates misunderstanding “We really lose… Read More
Category: Podcasts
Herbicide resistant wild oats are pretty easy to identify, says Neil Harker, a research scientist in weed ecology and crop management at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lacombe Research Centre. “You generally see them in patches. If you see [wild oats] in real straight lines, then you suspect a sprayer error, but if you just see them in… Read More
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Thursday, January 8th with additional information from the CFIA about the location of the case of verticillium wilt in canola. The first North American case of a disease that has caused serious economic losses in Europe’s rapeseed crop has been found in a canola trial plot in Manitoba…. Read More
Wulf Cattle started in 1955 as a feeding operation and has evolved into a player in the seedstock business as well. Marketing more than 40, 000 head of value-added fed cattle annually, Wulf Cattle now owns feedyards in Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska, making it one of North America’s largest integrated beef companies. “I think it’s human nature not to move… Read More
Farm machinery dealers are hoping to offset recent declines in equipment sales by expanding the services they provide to producers. After six consecutive years of strong growth, year-over-year sales of new equipment declined by as much as 25 percent for dealers in parts of Western Canada in 2014, according to John Schmeiser, CEO of the newly-formed Western Equipment Dealers… Read More
How do you make a skinny tire that damages as little crop as possible but doesn’t just cut through soft soil like a knife through butter? The key is having a flexible sidewall that allows the tire’s footprint to expand. “Basically the ability to make the tire as flexible as possible means you can carry a much higher… Read More
Saskatchewan Young Ag-Entrepreneurs (SYA) is partnering with the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors to host this year’s Current and Connected Conference and AGM, taking place January 7-8 at the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel in Saskatoon. Registration for #currentandconnected15 is filling up fast! Get yours in today by emailing [email protected] @CAFANET #youngag @SKAgriculture — Sask Young Ag… Read More
Have you ever thought about the workplace culture on your farm or within your business? Good or bad, a culture will exist whether a manager or CEO has intentionally thought about it or not, says the former CEO of Walmart Canada. Culture is what drives a business — it’s the fabric of an organization, explains Mario… Read More
Peter Johnson, cereal specialist with Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, will be moving on after February 4, a day that marks 30 years with the ministry. But, it doesn’t sound like Johnson will be retiring from agriculture any time soon. “We have to get back to that thought process of protecting the soil and… Read More
With the rise in gluten-free and low carb dieting, wheat has received a bad rap and developed a nutritional reputation that it doesn’t deserve, says a cereal research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Based at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals in Winnipeg, Dr. Nancy Ames is concerned consumers are not realizing the… Read More
There were roughly 95 million cattle in the United States as of July 1, 2014, a 3% drop from 2012 numbers, but that could turn around, according to John Navlinka of Sterling Marketing. “I think we’re beginning to build herds and it’s going to be slow — it’s not going to be a rapid buildup… Read More
Manitoba farmers whose soil test results say they have soybean cyst nematode in their soil may want to get a second opinion, says a soil ecologist from the University of Manitoba. While the number of soybean acres has exploded on the eastern side of the Prairies over the last few years, Western Canadian growers have… Read More
The odds of a fertilizer shortage in Western Canada this upcoming spring are lower than they were last year, according to a Saskatchewan-based sales manager for fertilizer manufacturer Yara Canada. “We’re off to a good start. We’ve actually had record Q1 shipping of all products in Western Canada,” explains Dean Anderson in the interview below, filmed at… Read More
It’s been a wild finish to a wild year in the beef market, with prices dropping off over the last few weeks from the record highs set in November. While feeder cattle futures dropped by the limit for five consecutive days in mid-December, producers should not lose sight of the fact there’s still strong fundamental support for high cattle… Read More
It’s no wonder that Western Canada is watching what’s unfolding in Ontario closely. That province’s government’s move to closely regulate neonicotinoid seed treatments, even after changes in corn and soybean planting showed significant reductions in bee health risk, has many in the agriculture industry wondering what this means for pesticide access moving forward. In this… Read More